City Council’s Mouth And Money Don’t Align

When it comes to cycling accessibility and options, Regina is one of the worst cities in the Prairie provinces, according to Luke Nichols with Bike Regina.

“I would rate Regina as poor,” Nichols said. “Since the official community plan was passed about three or four years ago, we have implemented one block of cycling infrastructure. That is it. That is the extent of what the city has done.”

Compared to other Prairie cities, Regina seems to lag behind. Saskatoon has an extensive cycling network in development and has implemented protected bike lanes for cyclists in the city. Calgary currently has more than 550 kilometres of pathways and 260 kilometres of on-street bicycle routes.

“Broken down, we have a multi-use pathway system that is 41 kilometres, and it extends throughout the city,” said Geoff Brown, manager of infrastructure planning branch. “As well, we have 21 kilometres of bike lanes.”

Nichols contends that with more bike lanes, more residents would start cycling through the city, creating greater use and need for bike lanes.

“The official community plan found 65 per cent of people were looking to cycle but were scared due to lack of infrastructure,” Nichols said.

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